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Adventure Boot Camp – Recap

Several weeks ago I saw a Groupon for Adventure Boot Camp here in Nashville. It was for either 5 or 10 sessions at a drastically cut rate – I think I got my 10 sessions for like $52, which is awesome. It meets every morning (or evening, but I chose mornings) at 5:45 a.m. and lasts four weeks. The normal package is for four weeks of camp and you can choose to go 3, 4 or 5 days a week. I did four days for two weeks and finished my last two days (10 sessions) this week.

I wasn’t sure what to expect – but my friend Kim had been through camp before and helped prep me a bit. Her one beef with it was there wasn’t enough upper body workout. Well, your review was heard, Kim – we burned out those arms several times.

Quick run down.

Josh Allen leads Adventure Boot Camp and is awesome. He told us the first day he would be encouraging, but wouldn’t yell at us. Well hell – what kind of boot camp is that? 🙂 But he was just that – very encouraging and supportive, without making you feel like a fat idiot. He adapts everything to your skill level – if you’re hurt or having issues with something, he can help you modify every exercise and does a great job of floating through the class and checking form on every exercise, praising you when you do well and will know your name by the second class. I just can’t say enough about Josh.

The boot camp meets at Lipscomb University and their facilities are the jam. I loved being outside (if it wasn’t rainy) on their tennis courts and watching the sun come up while getting my sweat on every morning. Started my whole day on a high note.

The camp is made up of all women, which was nice. One reason I hate gyms and have never held a membership is because of all the grunting men. I don’t want to see your beefcakes or hear you flexing them. So being surrounded by other women trying to reach the same goals was a nice, calm, supportive environment. I made several new friends and loved seeing their familiar faces every morning as we bonded over sweat and near tears some days. (Nah, it wasn’t that bad). 🙂

I consider myself pretty in shape, particularly with cardio since I run. But this really stretched me to do weight lifting (just 8 and 5 pound weights are required for the class) and to work some different muscle groups that running just doesn’t touch. It was a challenge every day, but not to the point where I thought I didn’t want to come back or felt like I wasn’t getting enough. It was always just right. I left in a puddle (I seriously was so sweaty I looked like I’d been swimming some days), and was sore some, but not to the point that I couldn’t come back four days in a row. One day the class will focus more on legs, the next day more on abs and arms, for example — so your soreness has time to wear off before you really burn those muscles out again.

The class progresses and gets more challenging every week, so you never get complacent and you can feel yourself getting stronger. I did drop a couple of lbs in the 10 days, but even more than that can see more definition in my abs, legs and arms. Cha-ching! But, I do intend to drink my share of cold beers and eat my weight (daily) in seafood next week at the beach – so, I look forward to undoing it all! Kidding. That’s the great thing about Josh’s camp is that I’ve learned so many things that I can take with me and do at home or while I’m at the beach next week.

Adventure Boot Camp really teaches you a lot, quickly – and pushes you in a good way. If you have a chance, try it out. I think Josh does Groupons pretty regularly, so that’s a great way to dip your toe in if you’re not sure about it, and then you can upgrade to the full four weeks if you enjoy it.